


smooth-spoken fallacies

by praqmatist



Series: delusions of grandeur [1]
Category: Hamilton-Miranda
Genre: F/M, M/M, Mentioned Elizabeth "Eliza" Schuyler/Maria Reynolds, relationship troubles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-23
Updated: 2016-08-23
Packaged: 2018-08-10 13:36:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7847131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/praqmatist/pseuds/praqmatist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alexander Hamilton is quick to point out the flaws in someone's argument. He'll point out the exact point at which your logic took the wrong turn- the fallacies. He's more hesitant to do so when the mistakes are his own.</p>
            </blockquote>





	smooth-spoken fallacies

 

**reification fallacy: when one treats an abstract concept or belief as a concrete event or physical entity**

 

Alexander traces patterns on Eliza's stomach mindlessly as he lies sleeping next to her, an arm around her. She isn't fully awake, but she's awake enough to feel his warm hand on her skin and relax into him. She lets out a sigh at his snoring and lifts his arm from around her gently. He furrows his brow in confusion for a moment before relaxing his face and continuing on with his snoring. Eliza slips out of bed silently and walks slowly to the kitchen, careful not to wake him. Once she gets there, she pours herself a cool glass of water and walks back to their bedroom. She places the glass of water on the nightstand and sits down on the bed, picking it up occasionally to take sips.

She glances back at him, smiling softly, before finishing the glass of water and slipping under the covers fully. She snuggles into Alexander again, but he doesn't lift his arm, instead choosing to curl into himself further. She sighs again and turns away from him, staring out of the window at the dark sky.

In the morning, Alexander isn't in the bed. Eliza hears noises coming from the kitchen, so she gets up and walks towards the noise. Alexander's in there, pouring himself a bowl of cereal. Once he sees her standing in the entrance, he smiles and holds his arms open for a hug. Eliza smiles warmly and steps into it, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"How'd you sleep last night?" Alexander whispers, not wanting to break the (false) sense of calm they've created this morning. Not wanting to speak loud enough to bring the stress they're both under to keep this relationship going back into focus.

"Good, good," Eliza says. They're both quiet for a second before Eliza says "I love you, Alexander." Alexander pulls back from the hug to smile down at Eliza.

"I love you too."

 

**observational selection** **: pointing out favorable circumstances while ignoring the unfavorable**

Aaron pulls out of Alexander's grasp for a second, gasping. Alexander tilts his head in confusion.

"Should we really be doing this?" Aaron asks, concerned. Alexander gives him a smile.

"Yeah, of course. Why, do you not want to?" Alexander sits further back on the bed, away from Aaron for a little bit, folding his legs under him.

"No, no, Alexander, of course I want to, but we're... we're going into this blindly. We should seriously stop and think-" Alexander cuts him off by pressing their lips together again. Aaron hums and melts into it for a second before screwing his eyes shut tighter and pushing Alexander away.

"No, you can't just..."

"Can't just what? Come on, Aaron, you think too much." Alexander leans in again.

"And you're not thinking enough. Seriously, there could be consequences to this."

"Like what?"

"Like wh- Alexander. Come on, you have a _wife_ ," Aaron says in disbelief.

"She's never cared in the past."

"I'm not the past, Alexander, I'm right now."

"Then exist in the right now, Aaron. Stop thinking," Alexander wraps his arms around Aaron's neck, hugging him from a distance. Aaron glances down before sighing and leaning in again, pushing Alexander down onto the bed. Alexander wraps his arms around Aaron's neck and sighs into the kiss. When Aaron backs away for air he pushes back for a second to smile up at Aaron. "See? Like that."

  
**no true christian: w** **hen faced with an example, rather than denying it, this fallacy excludes the specific case without reference to any objective rule.**

Three consecutive knocks sound on John's door as he sits in front of his TV flipping through the channels. He groans loudly and mutes it, putting down his drink and going to answer the door. When he opens it, he's face-to-face with a sweaty, panting Alexander.

"Did you... did you run here? Because I swear to God if you try and pull some How To Get Away With Murder Connor shit, I'm not having it."

"No-- I'm-- have you seen-- Eliza?" Alexander gets out between pants.

"Uh, no, no one has. She's in New Haven with like, Maria Reynolds or some shit."

Alexander's taken aback for a second. He pushes past John into the apartment, plopping down onto his couch. "She can't be."

"You know this because?" John asks, sitting down on the other side of the couch.

"'She didn't tell me."

"She's just acting like you, man. You disappear with me and Aaron and Kitty like, all the time. If I were her I woulda up and left your ass a long time ago," John says. He's oblivious to the bluntness of the statement, but apparently so is Alexander.

"No, she didn't _leave_ me leave me, right? She'd... she'd tell me."

John hums and shrugs before taking another sip of his drink, turning the TV volume back up. The light from the screen casts shadows on the worry lines etched into Alexander's face.

 

**loaded questions** **: embodies an assumption that, if answered, indicates an implied agreement**

When Eliza enters her and Alexander's apartment at midnight a few days later, he's waiting for her in an armchair in the living room. She eyes him warily before continuing towards their bedroom.

"Eliza," he calls without looking at her. She closes her eyes and walks backwards until he's in her line of vision again.

"Yes?" she says, voice sharp. She very quickly notices the glass of whiskey next to him, granted, with a responsible amount poured for once in his life. That doesn't stop her from remaining on edge.

"Where were you?" Alexander asks, and it comes out as more of a statement. Eliza turns to face him fully, drawing herself up to her full height.

"New Haven, with Maria. Or did Laurens not tell you? You tend to spend a lot of time at his place." Her confidence surprises even herself. Apparently, it takes Alexander off guard too. He stands upright at a breakneck speed, anger in his eyes. Eliza's not afraid he'll hit her, but she's scared of what he'll resort to if he doesn't go down that path.

"Why didn't I hear it from you?" Alexander asks. Eliza can't tell if the emotion clouding over his eyes is anger, frustration, sadness, or all of that plus alcohol. She almost feels bad for him, then remembers, oh. There's a point she's trying to make, isn't there?

"You never feel the need to tell me when you're going out with one of your friends, I just assumed that was how our relationship works. Because, you know. The whole relationship thing is supposed to work both ways."

"What'd you do with her?" Alexander continues with the statement-questions. Eliza remains silent.

"Eliza, what did you-" she turns and walks away, trying to tune out the sound of his frustrated noises.

 

**false dichotomy: considering only the extremes**

"So what's it gonna be, Eliza? Are we gonna stay together, are we gonna even talk after this?"

"Those aren't the only two options Alexander." Eliza and Alexander are standing in their kitchen the next morning. Eliza's hands are folded across her chest, closed off, and Alexander's bracing himself on the kitchen counter behind him, his body open.

"Well, that's the vibe you're givin' off," Alexander says, gesturing to her body language. Eliza draws herself in tighter, looking out of the window. alexander pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs.

"Look," he says. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm willing to admit that I fucked up couple of times." Eliza lets out a scoff at that. "Okay, fair, lot of times, but I'm admitting that I made the mistakes. I'm not gonna do it again, I promise, I'm sorry. You won't even tell me what you did with Maria, I'm not gonna be mad, I promise, Eliza, please." As he's talking, Alexander moves closer to her, tilting her chin with his fingers so she's looking at him. She jerks away from his hand and looks out of the window again.

"I don't have to tell you anything."

Alexander laughs dryly at that before turning away from her and lacing his fingers together at the back of his head. Without looking at her, he says "I don't know what you want me to do, Eliza."

"I don't know, Alexander, I assumed someone as smart as you would've taken less time to arrive at the obvious conclusion that maybe doing more isn't exactly in your best interest."

"Well shit, Eliza. Should I stop talking, stop hanging out with anyone other than you?"

"If what you define what you do with your friends as 'hanging out' then I guess you have an answer as to what it was I did with Maria these past few days." While Eliza's talking, Alexander rests his arms on the counter before turning back to her and exploding.

"What the fuck, Eliza? You're the one that's supposed to at least try and make this work!"

Eliza's taken aback, but she gathers her bearings quick enough to yell back. "I'm the one? Alexander, I've done nothing but forgive you over and over and over again over the past four years of our lives! And you're gonna ask me for more? I'm human too, do you not realize that?"

"Okay then. Okay. You obviously need some time," Alexander says, backing away from her with exaggerated movements. "I'm going. I'm gonna- I'll be back in a few hours. Maybe longer, probably longer. Call me-- whenever. I can't do this." Eliza turns back to the window with a frustrated huff as Alexander grabs his backpack and walks out the door with loud steps. Eliza finds that she knows he's going to be gone for much longer than a few hours- he has clothes at John and Aaron's places.

  
**slippery slope** **: a change in procedure, law, or action, will result in adverse consequences**

Eliza finds she doesn't care.

  
**red herring** : **when the arguer diverts the attention by changing the subject**

"It's like she thinks- like she thinks I come here because I'm leaving on my own free will! She's the one that keeps driving me away!" Alexander kicks Aaron's beanbag angrily, while Aaron sits on his bed, knees drawn up to his chest.

"Have you ever maybe thought about considering the idea that she might be... right?" Aaron says cautiously. Alexander turns to Aaron with so much emotion in his eyes that Aaron almost audibly gasps. Alexander takes one large stride across the room and pulls Aaron to his feet and into a kiss. Aaron's hands scramble for purchase on Alexander's back, his lips moving awkwardly, entire body trying to understand what exactly it is that Alexander wants. After a few seconds, Alexander pushes him away, breathing heavily.

"You can't keep doing that, Alexander, or you're not gonna have me to turn to anymore," Aaron says after Alexander's turned away from him. Alexander's silent for a moment. Aaron sits back down on the bed, watching the gears in Alexander's mind turn. And it's kind of upsetting, knowing that he's analyzing this situation the same way he analyzes a case or a debate. Like Aaron's just another chance for him to test his problem-solving skills.

"Remember how, only a couple days after we met, you watched me fall in love?" Alexander says quietly.

"Don't-" Aaron starts.

"No, I'm serious," Alexander says, turning back to face Aaron again. "Do you remember watching me see her that night, do you remember the way my eyes looked, the way my hands shook, the way my knees bent a little bit?" Aaron nods, because yes, that image, along with the fact that Eliza wasn't him, was going to be burned into his brain forever.

"Good. Now look at me, looking at you, right now."

And then Aaron gets it.

  
**appeal to tradition** **: the fact that people practice a tradition says nothing about its viability**

"I promise to communicate with you, I promise to listen to you, to be a better husband, everything, but Eliza, I can't do this," Alexander gestures to himself as he stands in the doorway of him and Eliza's apartment only a day after leaving, "without you." Eliza looks at Alexander, who very obviously walked home in the rain the way pouring down outside. She eyes him warily.

"You tell me when you're going to Aaron's," she says. Alexander nods. "And tell me why." Alexander nods again. Eliza sighs to herself, rubs a hand across the back of her neck, before stepping out of the doorway to let Alexander back into their home.

Back into her life.

**Author's Note:**

> debate knowledge ~ the more you know ~


End file.
